SALT LAKE CITY — The son of a former Utah governor announced Thursday that he will join the Democratic candidate seeking to unseat Gov. Gary Herbert.
Vince Rampton has been chosen as the running mate for Peter Cooke, who is seeking to be the state’s first Democratic governor in nearly two decades. Rampton would be Cooke’s lieutenant governor. Rampton is the son of former Gov. Cal Rampton, a Democrat who served three terms between 1965 and 1977. Cooke said Vincent Rampton is "a proud member of a great Utah family with a strong tradition of service to our state." Vincent Rampton, who has never run for political office, is a real estate, environmental and land use attorney with a Salt Lake City law firm. He is a graduate of the University of Utah and received his law degree from Brigham Young University. Democrats will officially select Cooke as their nominee for governor during the state convention on Saturday in downtown Salt Lake City. No other candidates are seeking the party’s nomination. Cooke is a retired two-star general, according to his campaign website. Prior to his retirement in 2009, he was the commander of the Army Reserves for six states. He since has been working on veteran’s issues, his campaign said. The last Democrat to serve as Utah governor was Scott Matheson, who was in office for two terms and retired after the 1984 elections. To win this year, Cooke will likely have to defeat the incumbent Herbert. There are Republican challengers to Herbert, and it will also be determined on Saturday at the GOP state convention whether he will be the party’s nominee. To avoid a primary, Herbert needs to win at least 60 percent of the vote from 4,000 delegates. Otherwise, the top two finishers will go to a June primary.
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